RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry says four crew members were killed when their military helicopter crashed during a night training exercise in an area near the kingdom's border with Iraq and Kuwait.

A short Defense Ministry statement issued early Tuesday and carried by the official Saudi Press Agency did not offer a cause for the crash of the U.S.-made Black Hawk helicopter in the Hafar al-Batin area. It said authorities already have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the crash.